As an iPhone user and developer, I am rooting for the Motorola Droid.

I was not originally a big fan of the Apple iPhone. In fact, it didn’t win me over until the launch of both the App Store and the 3G. Before that, I felt it was an ambitious device, but missed the mark on some fundamentals.

Since then, I have been a *mostly* happy convert.

Yes, like most iPhone users, I do have my gripes about the iPhone:

1. Service cost.
2. AT&T coverage and call quality
3. Inability to use Apps not approved by Apple
4. Annoyance of the use of ‘authorized computers and libraries’ and DRM confounding media management.
5. Inability to run apps simultaneously

As a developer, I have my gripes also:

1. 30% APPLE ROYALTY!
2. Price pressure which makes support of small market apps unattractive.
3. ‘Narrow’ marketing hose of the App Store Storefront, which makes marketing more difficult the more apps are introduced.
4. Overcomplicated provisioning procedures.
5. Inability to measure out-of-app-store marketing conversion efforts.
6. Inability to communicate directly to userbase via email.
7. Slow and random approval process.
8. Insertion of Apple Store into conflicts between developer and third parties.
9. Restrictions on app content.
10. Poor developer communications.

So, I am definitely looking forward to the new Motorola Droid, and hope it gives Apple a run for its money, because as spectacular as the iPhone is, it desperately needs competition.

My life would be much, much easier if I could sell apps direct to users. I could charge less, make more, market effectively, push updates at will, make any app I wanted without fear of rejection, and communicate directly with my userbase via email.

I would also love to have a phone with the features of the iPhone but with Verizon.